You’ve got an athlete who’s putting in the work.

They’re running sprints.

They’re hitting ladder drills.

They’re staying after practice, doing extra reps, and pushing themselves week after week.

But when it comes to game day… nothing’s changing. They’re still not faster.

Frustrating, right?

If your athlete has been grinding without real speed results, you’re not alone — and you’re not crazy. But the problem isn’t effort. It’s the type of training.

Let’s dig into why your athlete’s not getting faster, and what to do instead.

The False Fixes:

Most athletes (and parents) turn to the flashiest-looking tools first:

Ladder drills for “quick feet”
Endless sprints
Cone zig-zags and fancy footwork routines

While these might look like speed training, they’re mostly cardio with choreography. They don’t teach the body to apply more force into the ground, improve mechanics, or build the coordination needed to move explosively.

Speed isn’t about moving your feet faster. It’s about applying more force in less time.

These false fixes aren’t harmful on their own — but when they’re used instead of real training, they keep athletes stuck.

What Speed Really Requires:

True speed development boils down to three main pillars:

Force Production — The ability to produce and apply power into the ground. Athletes need to be strong and explosive to move fast.
Mechanics — Sprinting is a skill. Most athletes don’t run efficiently, and every mechanical leak slows them down.
Game-Speed Reactivity — Straight-line speed is great, but most sports demand rapid decisions and changes in direction. You have to train the brain, too.

An athlete who can squat, move well, and react quickly will always beat the one who just does more drills.

The Missing Link — Assessment Drives the Plan:

Before we train an athlete to get faster, we assess them.

Why? Because how we help them get faster depends on what’s limiting them.

Speed comes down to two core abilities:

How strong you are (can you produce force?)
How well you can use that strength (can you apply it quickly and efficiently?)

If an athlete is already strong, piling on more weight training isn’t going to make them faster — they need more speed-focused work: resisted sprints, fly-ins, and max effort sprinting.

If they’re “springy” but lack strength, more plyos won’t help. They need foundational strength work to increase their force production capacity.

Assessment helps us figure that out. We look at:

Sprint mechanics
Relative strength levels
Movement quality
Force application patterns

Then we build a plan based on their actual needs, not a generic speed template.

What to do instead:

If your athlete wants to get faster, start here:

Build a strength foundation. Lifting properly (not like a bodybuilder) gives athletes the horsepower to accelerate and decelerate.
Train sprint mechanics. Sprinting is a skill. It can be coached and improved.
Include short, high-quality sprint work. True speed training is low volume, high intent, and full rest.
Add variety. Resisted sprints, hills, sleds, and reaction drills develop speed that sticks.
Get assessed first. Know what your athlete needs before guessing what to train.

How we help:

At our facility, we help athletes get faster using a proven coaching model:

Personalized programming
Small-group training with real coaching
A focus on long-term athletic development

We don’t do cookie-cutter workouts. We meet athletes where they are and build them up, step by step.

Whether your athlete is trying to make the team, earn a starting spot, or stand out to recruiters, speed is a competitive edge — and we help them build it the right way.

If your athlete’s been working hard but not getting faster, it might be time for a different approach.

Get in touch with me here and let’s build a plan that actually works.

Your athlete has the drive. We provide the direction.